The passport photos that everyone used to carry in their wallets have now been replaced by digitalization. No one carries a photo of themselves or their loved ones in their wallets. Now, dozens of photos can be taken with a single click. While the photographers’ motto of “I’ll take a photo if you smile” is a thing of the past, many people have found a solution to stay on their feet by raising their prices. Last year, the average price of 4 passport/biometric photos was between 150-200 TL, and now it is 300 TL. If the digital passport is transferred via e-mail or USB memory stick, an extra 100 TL will be charged. More are in demand. 8 photos are sold for 400 TL, 12 for 550 TL, 16 for 650 TL, 20 for 750 TL, 24 for 850 TL, 28 for 950 TL.
ALBUMS ARE ORPHANED
Vahap Toğrul, a photographer in Kağıthane, says that in recent years, citizens have only had their passport photos taken when they had to. Toğrul, “Nobody takes photos to make albums anymore “In fact, even albums aren’t sold anymore,” he said.
“We disappeared when digital came out,” said Toğrul, explaining that he closed two of his three shops in order to survive and added: “I used to have 6-7 employees, now I work alone, I don’t even have an apprentice. 4 passport photos cost 300 TL, but when we deduct the costs, I can only make a profit of 50 TL. My cost items include rent, electricity, water, taxes and withholding tax.”
PHOTOGRAPHER SELLING HONEY
Toğrul, who started selling organic honey in a section of his shop when he could not make a living from photography, said, “If I did not sell honey, I could not do photography. The prices of the products vary between 600 and 1,600 TL.”
Toğrul, who explained that the printing machine is also expensive, said, “There are 6-7 toners in it and the unit costs 45 euros. As the foreign exchange rate increases, toner prices also increase. The brain of these machines needs to be changed once a year, and this costs between 25-30 thousand TL. “The lights used during the photo cost $2,000 each,” he said.

PROFESSION SHOULD BE PROTECTED
Bendevi Palandöken, the Chairman of the Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Craftsmen, said that digitalization is destroying the craft of photographers. Palandöken, “Photographs are now sold as antiques in markets, “This profession must be protected,” he said.
Dilek Camcı, President of the Istanbul Professional Photographers Chamber of Tradesmen, explained how they determine their price tariffs with the following words:
“We also need to take into account rents and materials that are subject to foreign currency. In particular, there has been an increase in room fees at the minimum wage rate, and this has been reflected in prices. The photographer only pays for the shop rent in TL, and everything else is paid in foreign currency. We have to reflect the figures to the consumer, including the employee’s insurance and the POS device tax. And despite these figures, the photographer’s profit from passport photos is around 20 percent.”

PHOTOBOOTS SHOULD BE REMOVED
Camcı also listed the problems in the sector as follows:
“Photo booths in public institutions should be removed.
When accepting baby and birth photographers to hospitals, their qualification documents and whether they are registered with the chamber should be examined.
There should be regulations on bride and groom shootings. There are 2,500 registered and 5,000 unregistered photographers in Istanbul, and this should be inspected, including on shooting sets.”
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